Nutrient-impacted water runoff from farm fields can have environmental consequences. A case filed by Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) involving financial damages from treatment of this water recently made its way to the Iowa Supreme Court. On Friday, January 27, the Iowa Supreme Court resolved one issue associated with the DMWW case; however, non-point source permitting issues under the Clean Water Act will still be considered by a trial court in June.
Keith Good
Keith Good is the Farm Policy News editor for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked for the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, and compiled the daily FarmPolicy.com News Summary from 2003-2015. He is a graduate of Purdue University (M.S.- Agricultural Economics), and Southern Illinois University School of Law.
“Rural” Voters May Not Align with “Farm” Voters on Trade Issues
Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Tuesday’s Des Moines Register that, “President Donald Trump’s decision to jettison the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal and renegotiate U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico could lead to a trade war that could put Iowa in the cross-hairs, worried state leaders told the Register on Monday.”
U.S. Out of TPP- Ag Export Opportunities Potentially Lost
Financial Times writers Demetri Sevastopulo, Shawn Donnan and Courtney Weaver reported yesterday that, “President Donald Trump signalled he will put trade protectionism at the heart of his economic policy, withdrawing the US from a historic Pacific trade pact and threatening to punish American companies for moving production overseas on his first working day in office.”
Trump Talks NAFTA Renegotiation; Tariff Issues a Separate Concern- China, North America Key to U.S. Ag Trade
Bloomberg writer Shannon Pettypiece reported late last week that, “President-elect Donald Trump won’t wait for Congress to confirm trade officials to act on his promises to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and give notice he will renegotiate NAFTA, press secretary Sean Spicer said.”
USDA Crop Surveys- Falling Response Rates from Producers
An update posted yesterday at the farmdoc daily blog by USDA Chief Economist Robert Johansson, Anne Effland of USDA’s Economic Research Service, and Mississippi State University agricultural economist Keith Coble, explored issues associated with response rates from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) surveys, and examined the impact of response rates on county yield estimates for an important new farm program–the ARC-CO program.
Federal Reserve: Observations on the Ag Economy- January ’17
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve Board released its January ’17 Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District. The report included several observations pertaining to the U.S. agricultural economy.
Farm Bill- 115th Congress- House and Senate Ag Committee Members
After taking a quick look at some basic parameters and issues associated with the 2018 Farm Bill (Dec. 8), and exploring federal agricultural appropriations (Jan. 4) in more detail, today’s update looks at the recently named members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees for the 115th Congress, and concludes wth some general observations.
Ag Technology: Increasing Availability and Use
An update yesterday from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta indicated that, “When Joe Boddiford is in Atlanta, 200 miles from his Southeast Georgia farm, he can operate his irrigation systems with his smartphone. Boddiford can turn on the water to a particular set of nozzles or shut it off. He can activate an underground well or monitor the entire system. ‘That gives me a lot of peace of mind,’ says Boddiford, who grows cotton, peanuts, and corn on 2,200 acres about 60 miles from Savannah.”
Upper Midwest Land Values
Last month, in its third-quarter 2016 Agricultural Credit Conditions Survey, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis indicated that, “Following a trend from recent quarterly surveys, land prices and cash rents retreated from historic highs. The average value for nonirrigated cropland in the district fell by more than 3 percent from a year earlier, according to survey respondents. Irrigated land values fell 1 percent, while ranch- and pastureland values fell 5 percent, perhaps reflecting the more recent downturn in livestock prices.”
Cuba Agricultural Trade Issues
Frank E. Lockwood reported on the front page of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette on January 2nd that, “A congressman from northeast Arkansas will reintroduce legislation to ease trade restrictions with Cuba, and says he’s hopeful that barriers to agricultural sales will be addressed early in 2017.”
China Trade, Export Focus as Commodity Prices Pressured
Shawn Donnan and Sam Fleming reported last week at The Financial Times Online that, “Robert Lighthizer, the lawyer [President-elect Donald Trump] picked for US trade representative, has for years likened free-trade advocates to political naifs. He will join Peter Navarro, another outspoken China hawk set to lead a new National Trade Council, and Wilbur Ross, the billionaire investor and the president-elect’s pick for commerce secretary, in a triumvirate chosen to deliver on Mr Trump’s campaign promise of an ‘America First’ trade policy.”
Dallas Fed Ag Credit Survey, “Concern” Noted
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas released the results of its 2016 Fourth Quarter Agricultural Credit Survey.
Lower Food Prices Benefit Consumers, Complicate Farmer’s Ledger
Los Angeles Times writer Geoffrey Mohan reported on the front page of the business section on Friday, December 30th that, “For food shoppers, 2016 was a back-to-the-future experience, with retail prices deflating for the first time since Lyndon Johnson was president.”
Agricultural Appropriations: Mostly “Mandatory,” Nutrition Related
A recent Congressional Research Service report provided an overview of the Agricultural appropriations bill, which funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture, except for the Forest Service, and is compromised mostly of mandatory spending set by law.
“Agricultural” Economy- “Rural” Economy
In a special section of the Christmas Day edition of the Omaha World-Herald, Barbara Soderlin reported that, “The outlook may sound bleak for Nebraska’s agriculture-dependent economy as farmers wrap up the third year in a row with falling profits: The decline has economists talking about state budget cuts, rising farm loan defaults and falling land values. Main Street businesses that depend on farm spending say the picture might be dimmer, but they’re not yet turning out the lights.”
Biofuels: Trump Picks Stir Unease
Last week, DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton reported that, “Biofuel supporters largely keep pointing to President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign statements on ethanol, but the stack of nominations coming from Trump with far closer ties to oil than ethanol is quickly starting to raise some red flags.
U.S. Contests China Ag Trade Policies at W.T.O.
Recall that back in September, Reuters writers David Lawder and Nathaniel Taplin reported that, “The United States on [September 13th] launched a challenge to China’s price supports for domestic wheat, corn and rice at the World Trade Organization, charging that these far exceed limits that China committed to when it joined the WTO in 2001.”
Iowa Farmland Values Decline, Cash Rent Issues
Donnelle Eller reported on the front page of Wednesday’s Des Moines Register that, “Iowa’s average farmland value declined for the third year in a row, down 5.9 percent to $7,183 an acre over the past year. It’s the first time since the 1980s farm crisis that land values have fallen three straight years, according to an Iowa State University [ISU] report released Tuesday.
Branstad Pick for China: Cautious Optimism From Some in Agricultural Sector
Des Moines Register reporter Jason Noble reported on December 7th that, “Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad will serve as ambassador to China in the administration of President-elect Donald Trump.” The article noted that, “In a statement, Trump praised Branstad’s long experience and close relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.”
Immigration- Food Prices
Caitlin Dewey reported in the Washington Post on December 7th that, “President-elect Donald Trump has promised a major crackdown on illegal immigration, triggering immense alarm among the country’s 11 million undocumented people. But Trump’s deportation promises, if fulfilled, would ripple far beyond the lives of illegal immigrants. Deportations would affect vast swaths of the economy — with a particularly dramatic impact on agriculture.